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| So why do they call it a fast if it moves so darn slow??
Hey, all. Long time no write. Lots happening since my last entry. My wife & I now have a house. Cute little place, and we almost stole it, thanks to the horrible market. Most of my time has been invested in painting, maintenance, moving, and upkeep. Fun, fun.
Work is crazy. People are trying to fit a year's worth of work into a few months. It's not working. While the current work is being completed, other stuff that we had planned from before is just getting left behind. No one seems to learn.
I can't wait until the weather finally breaks so I can get back on 2 wheels. Gas is too bloody expensive to keep driving a car. I may just get some winter weather gear & start extending the time that I ride to work.
Ah, well. I'm at work, so I suppose I should actually be working. Or something. Later, all. | | |
| Another mini-entry from me.
I've just read about a movement called "Buy Nothing Day." Apparently, there's a group of people out there who call themselves the "Adbusters." In a move not unlike the "Let's boycott petrol on this day," they've asked that people stay away from ALL shopping on Black Friday. They've even started asking people to refrain from shopping for the whole giftmas season!
No, it won't work. Even if everyone stopped for one day, the next day would be twice as bad. A whole season? Shopping would start sooner. The gasoline "boycott" doesn't work because economics doesn't work like that. Boycotting a neccessity for a limited time only increases consumption after the boycott is lifted. The solution is to reduce consumption permanently. Americans consume 80% of the global market's production, yet we don't comprise 80% of the world's population. I think that's a bit skewed, since Japan has a large percentage of consumption, yet their population is larger. Still, we are PIGS. Solution? Buy & consume less. Simple as that. Instead of getting someone an Xbox 360, give them a gift card for a percentage of that gift. For that matter, send Christmas cards! Not everyone needs a new tie-dyed sweater or plasma TV. The season is supposed to consist of turning your thoughts towards others that are needy, not cousin Jimmy that just has to have a Playstation 3.
By all means, participate in "Buy Nothing Day." Just know that a single stab at a problem doesn't fix the big issue - it only postpones it. Don't stop giving gifts for Christmas, just think about what you're giving & ask if someone really needs it or if the purchasing power that you have could be better used elsewhere. Ever thought about giving to a food pantry or homeless shelter for Christmas?
I'll close with this - want to know how bad the American economy is, despite the 13000+ stock market and insane shopping season?
The Canadian dollar is now worth more than the American dollar. That hasn't happened in my lifetime until now. That's just plain sad. | | |
| My wife just came up with the best word I've heard. "Indignorant." A mixture of "Ignorant" and "Indignant." After the first week of school on the technical side, this is a word I'm going to remember!
Later, all. | | |
| There are certain things in this life that leave one awestruck. Usually it involves extreme beauty or extreme devastation. In my case it would be the latter.
August 15th, 2007 - Watching MythBusters & getting ready for bed. I hear the "severe weather" beep on the tv in the other room. I check weather.com as a force of habit & see a tiny blob of red coming my way. Bad storm; should be over in 20 minutes or so. Wrong. From twilight to darkness in less than 30 seconds. Hail starts hitting our house - sounds like someone is shooting baseballs out of a machine gun. Two more minutes & the power dies. 10 more minutes & Amber says that the downstairs carpet is wet. I take a look in the laundry room & notice that there's water leaking in underneath the downstairs door. No big deal. No electricity, so the sump is out. The drain just has a little backup. I open the door to see how high the water is, and it comes rushing in like a small tidal wave.
At this point, I've realized that there is something REALLY bad going on outside. 30 minutes or so into it & the water level in the stairwell is already a foot & a half high. Not good. By now the hail itself has stopped & I resign myself to the fact that I have to get a 5 gallon bucket & go outside to bail water out of the stairwell. Long story short - over an hour of bailing water to keep the basement from flooding, and it's STILL raining. The lightning strikes are less than a second apart. I barely needed a flashlight!
Gotta go. Part two and pictures to come. | | |
| Vacations.
Why is it that I have so much trouble resting on a vacation? To be clearer, I seem to end up working at home on a vacation rather than just relaxing. I feel like it's the only time I can really get anything done. Is there something wrong with me?
I'll post more later - I really need to sleep a bit. I was awake more than I aws asleep last night.
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